The Table of Shewbread.

“Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
“And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.
“And thou shalt make unto it a border of an handbreadth round round, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.
“And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are in the four feet thereof.
“Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.
“And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.
“And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.
The Twelve Loaves.
“And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
“And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.
“And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
“Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
“And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons: and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute”
The principal Tabernacle-vessels were seven in number: (1) The Ark, (2) The Mercy-seat―these two spoke to the high priest in the most holy place; (3) The Altar of Incense, (4.) The Candlestick, (5) The Table of Shewbread―those three spoke of Christ who leads our worship, and is also our light and food in the heavenly places; (6) The Brazen Altar of Sacrifice, (7) The Laver―those two stood in the Court; the former was for use by priests and people, the other was pre-eminently a priestly vessel.
In the most holy place―one vessel wholly of gold―the Mercy-seat. In the holy place―one vessel wholly of gold—the Candlestick. In the Court―one vessel wholly of brass— the Laver. Gold in the heavenly places, and brass for earth. The remaining vessels were made of two materials shittim-wood and gold, or shittim-wood and brass. In the first temple there were ten tables, ten lavers, and ten candlesticks (2 Chron. 4.). This numeral express responsibility to God, and which in millennial times will be almost perfectly displayed. To that the temple looks forward.
The Table of Shewbread―the third of the sacred vessels in the holy place—was placed north, exactly opposite the Golden Candlestick (Exod. 40:22, 2422And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. (Exodus 40:22)
24And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. (Exodus 40:24)).1 Shittim-wood and pure gold were the materials of which the Table was made. The basis was the shittim or acacia wood, the only timber used in the construction of the Tabernacle and its vessels. The measurements of the Table are carefully given: two cubits long, one cubit broad, and a cubit and a half in height (verse 23). The height is the same as the Ark (25:10). In length and breadth the Ark exceeded the Table by a half cubit. Our communion at the Table never comes up to what the Ark and Mercy-seat are to God. What He rests on and finds there exceeds—far exceeds—our realizations. The dimensions of the Table will be better understood if we adopt English measurements. Thus, 36 inches in length, 18 inches in breadth and 27 inches in height. The Table was overlaid with pure gold2: no alloy could be allowed in that which set forth the Divine nature of our Lord. Thus, then, we have Christ in the twofold glory of His Person—Divine and Human. Christ the Altars,3 Christ the Laver, Christ the Candlestick, and Christ the Table. The Court and all in it uttered that Name. The holy place and its furniture, and the most holy too, all spake of Jesus, God’s beloved Son and our beloved Lord. But viewed as in heaven itself, His Person, His Divine and human excellencies, His official and moral glories, His offices, character, and sacrifice, form the burden of the Tabernacle as a whole, down to the minutest detail of pin and cord. Christ is the story it unfolds. Every whit of it uttereth His glory. “Make thereto a crown of gold round about.” The word “crown” in the text is nowhere used in the Scriptures to denote the crown of royalty. The meaning is that the upper part of the Table had a gold molding round about of a highly ornamental character: see margin of R.V. of Exod. 25:11, 2411And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 25:11)
24And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. (Exodus 25:24).
“Thou shalt make unto it a border of an handbreadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.” The Table was finished by a border round of about four inches in width, while within the border, and resting on the Table, there was a crown of ornamental work. The border or cornice and its additional ornamental molding, were meant to effectually secure the sanctified loaves, and all else on the Table, from slipping from their place. The handbreadth round about signified that a Divine hand safely guarded the loaves of communion. It was a Divine guarantee that on God’s side there would be no failure in maintaining intact the food of the priests. Does not all this point to Christ on high, in Whose hands and by Whose hands we are ever sustained? The crown to the Table, and the crown to the border, point to Christ in His moral glory and excellency―not as on earth, but in God’s own presence, as He is there (Heb. 2:77Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: (Hebrews 2:7)).
“In the heights of His bright glory,
Where the heavens rejoice,
I have seen Him, I have known Him,
I have heard His voice.”
Then four rings of gold were securely fastened to the feet of the Table—a ring to each of the four corners. The rings were placed just under the body of the Table, and were of sufficient strength and size to maintain the staves, which in their turn sustained the Table in its journeys. The rings, as presenting an unbroken circle, shadow forth the truth that Christ as a Divine Person (the gold), and also in the eternity of His Being (the rings), is the sustainer of His people, and as the gold rings and gold-covered staves indicated change and journey, so through all time and vicissitudes of life Christ shall surely uphold His own, supplying all needful food and refreshment by the way. God’s provision for His people―at rest or in travel―is ample and divinely guaranteed. His resources are never diminished by the utmost demands of the pilgrim host. All the provisions of grace are maintained in the heavens, all our resources are there in Him. Christ is all and in all.
Then certain vessels, all of pure gold, were placed upon the Table. These vessels were kept in place and position by the handbreadth border, while its crown gave dignity to the Divine preservation of all―loaves and vessels―on the Table. The vessels are thus enumerated (37:16): Dishes, spoons, bowls, covers or cups. The dishes were probably of more weight and value than the bowls, and are spoken of as “chargers” (Num. 7:8484This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold: (Numbers 7:84)) ―a somewhat antiquated expression―a large hollow vessel probably employed to convey the loaves to and from the Table. The chargers or dishes of Num. 7. were of silver; those for the sanctuary were of gold. The spoons were probably used for conveying the frankincense and putting it upon the “exhibition loaves” or “loaves of the presence,” so termed from the significant fact that the bread was set before the Lord continually. In the account given in Exod. 25:2929And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. (Exodus 25:29), we read of cups and bowls; whereas in chap. 37:16 the reverse order is adopted — bowls and cups. We gather that “the strong wine” was first poured out of the large vessel―the bowl, into the smaller―the cup (Num. 27:77The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. (Numbers 27:7)). However that may be, it is evident that the bowls and cups―probably numbering twelve of each―were directly employed for the drink offerings unto Jehovah―poured out in the holy place. We would also remark that “to cover withal,” as in the descriptive account, in Exodus, should read as in the margin, “to pour out.” All these ministrations of priestly grace are carried on in the heavens; they are heavenly in their sphere of action, but Divine in their operation. The holy place points to the former; the gold vessels to the latter.
The Table in its wood and gold―our Lord in His Human and Divine natures―is in God’s presence the support and sustainer of our communion with Himself, and with the whole system of heavenly things. The Table sustained all placed upon it, and those things spoke of our communion. But our feeding upon Christ in the heavenlies is not unfolded here. That fittingly finds its place in Leviticus, hence the Exodus account of the Table of Shewbread closes with the brief statement: “And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.” The preparation of the loaves, their number, arrangement, and disposal, next claim our attention.
There were twelve loaves baked of fine flour only. No other ingredient was used―no leaven4 (type of evil) nor honey (the mere sweetness of nature): (Lev. 2:1111No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the Lord made by fire. (Leviticus 2:11)). The bruised corn, crushed and baken― exposed to the searching action of fire—speaks of the absolute purity of His nature and life. The more thorough the fire, it the more manifested the purity of the fine flour. In us there is dross which trial makes manifest to ourselves, and, alas, to others. But in Christ, life’s trials and even death itself, only manifested His absolute purity without and within. The purity of the flour was tested and its excellence proved in the baking process to which it was subjected. In Him, the fire manifested His life; in us, the fire separates the dross from the flour. In Christ the fire never separated. In Him the flour was pure. In us it is not so―it is a mixed quality. Each loaf was made of “two tenth deals” of flour; that is, each cake was made of two omers, or the fifth part of an ephah. One omer of manna was supplied from heaven daily for each of the Children of Israel—an ample amount for daily food (Exod. 16.). But the cakes or loaves of Shewbread were each made just double that amount.5 The numeral two expresses the fullness of Jewish and Gentile testimony—sufficient witness borne to the blessed truth that Christ known and loved on high, is the food of His heavenly people (John 8:1717It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. (John 8:17); Rev. 11: 3, 4; Matt. 18:1616But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (Matthew 18:16)). Type, fact, and experience unite in proclaiming the all-sufficiency of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary for the nourishment of each and all of the Lord’s redeemed. “He is enough the mind and heart to fill.”
Then the number and arrangement of the loaves have their own special teaching. The twelve loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel. It is a singular circumstance that the only miracle common to the four Gospels is the feeding of the five thousand, the fragments of which filled twelve baskets (John 6: 9-13). It was Jesus in the power and grace of Jehovah feeding His people (Ps. 132.).
Israel; then, is represented in these twelve loaves on the Table. The unity of the nation to all outward appearance is gone forever. Israel or the ten tribes is outcast and Judah dispersed (Isa. 11:1212And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:12)). From the subversion of the ten-tribed kingdom by the Assyrian, and the subsequent destruction of the Judean monarchy by the Babylonian, there has been no re-union of the nation as such. The partial restoration of Judah and settlement in the land under Persian rule, was in no sense a restoration of the nation. In the year 70 A.D., the Roman plowshare passed over Zion: the Temple laid in heaps, and the people dispersed throughout the earth. All seemed hopeless on the human side. But God is ever true to His word and promise. The future restoration, temporal blessing, and conversion of the whole nation of Israel are assured facts, and there are not wanting signs that the introduction of Israel into the scene of the world’s troubled politics is nigh at hand (Ezek. 20.; 34.; 37:15-28; Isa. 59:20, 2120And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. 21As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:20‑21)). The cry of the prophet, “He, to the land” ―the would―be deliverer of Judah from her dispersion of 2000 years―may be one translated into fact which many of us now alive will behold. The trend of events is distinctly Zionward. The Hebrew apostle James addresses his Epistle to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” The nation as one ever exists before God. Israel is one people wrapped up in the thoughts and counsels of God, and her prophetic destiny is grandly assured. Israel is one, and the Church is one, spite of the world-wide scattering of both. Rule on earth―perfect government―will be expressed through Israel in a coming day: see Matt. 19:2828And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28).
The cakes were set in two rows—six in each. In like manner the names of the Children of Israel were graven on two onyx stones―six on one stone, and six on the other. These stones were shoulder pieces borne by the high priest―stones of memorial (Exod. 28:9-129And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth. 11With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold. 12And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:9‑12)). The twelve cakes too were for a memorial “before the LORD.” Frankincense―the moral beauties of Christ displayed in His life here below―was put upon the rows of bread―every cake had spread over it a precious covering of this delightful perfume. Thus Israel is ever before God in the moral perfectness of Christ, in all that He was and did as man on earth. Twelve6 signifies perfection of administration in Israel―to be displayed in millennial times. How touching the thought that all during the long dark night of Israel’s desolation — a broken vessel amongst the Gentiles―the sevenfold light of the sanctuary is thrown upon the twelve cakes on the pure Table covered with that which speaks of the beauty of Christ. Israel’s present and future are dark to herself and to man. But both her unbelief, and the scorn and contempt of the Gentile are alike to God. Israel is ever before Him, and as witnessed in the sanctuary, she is a beauty to Jehovah.
The cakes remained in all their freshness on the Table for a week—a complete cycle of time. The fine flour set forth the perfectness of Christ, and covered with the frankincense the moral beauties of that wondrous life. There is then light and food in the heavenly places, and Christ is both. But the loaves were the food of the priests.
Every Sabbath freshly-baked cakes, fragrant with incense, were placed on the Table; the old ones removed and eaten by Aaron and his sons in a holy place―we presume the Court, which was such. Now, as we have repeatedly seen, Aaron’s sons represent all believers in the Christian Dispensation―all are priests to God, and all have full and equal access into the heavenly sanctuary, and all have Christ in the blessed acceptability of His life and sacrifice to God, as their food. He is our light and our communion. One loaf to us; twelve to Israel. Israel’s place and position was outside; it ever was and shall be. The place of the holy priesthood is inside; signified in type, and now made good in these Christian ages. It is Christians, Paul the profound worshipper, addresses in those words of priestly appeal, “Let us draw near” (Heb. 10: 19-22).
This ordinance of the loaves comes under the designation of a “memorial,” an “everlasting covenant,” most holy of all the offerings, a “perpetual statute,” while four times the “LORD” is expressly named in its connection. In drawing our remarks to a close, we would call attention to the fact that the Table of Shewbread is described immediately after the Ark. It is important to observe that while the Brazen Altar in the Court in its deep and profound teaching formed the basis of the whole Levitical system, yet the Ark in the Holiest was the center of the Tabernacle within―it was the first manifestation or display of God to man; while the last point of approach from man to God. God begins with Christ, and we end with Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.
But we must pass on from this truly delightful and fragrant theme, as other truths demand thought and meditation.
Saviour of Thee we ne’er would tire:
The new and living food
Can satisfy our heart’s desire,
And life is in Thy blood.
 
1. In the closing chapter of Exodus we have it recorded seven times how faithfully all was done in exact accord with Jehovah’s requirements: “As the LORD commanded Moses” (verses 19-29).
2. The gold of the Ark, the Mercy-seat, the Table and its accessories, toe Candlestick and its accessories, and the Altar of Incense must be pure. Its absolute quality and purity are imperatively insisted upon.
3. Blood was put upon the horns of both Altars: see Lev. 4:7-187And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8And he shall take off from it all the fat of the bullock for the sin offering; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards, 9And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away, 10As it was taken off from the bullock of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall burn them upon the altar of the burnt offering. 11And the skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his inwards, and his dung, 12Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt. 13And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; 14When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. 15And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the Lord: and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord. 16And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: 17And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the vail. 18And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Leviticus 4:7‑18), as to the Golden Altar in the sanctuary, and verses 25, 30, 34 for the Brazen Altar in the Court. This was done in the case of the ordinary sin-sacrifices. But in the making of Atonement nothing is said as to the horns (Lev. 1., 16.). Reader, either your sin is graven on the horns of the Altars (Jer. 17:11The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; (Jeremiah 17:1)), or the blood is on those Altars—the witness that all has been blotted out forever.
“The Brazen Altar smokes no more,
On which the victim lay.”
4. In all the varieties of the meat or flour offerings (Lev. 2.), honey and leaven were excluded, but oil (the Spirit) and salt (the preserving character of truth and grace) were essential ingredients. In Lev. 23:15-2115And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 16Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord. 17Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord. 18And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor unto the Lord. 19Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. (Leviticus 23:15‑21), we have detailed the feast of Pentecost which has its answer and fulfillment in Acts 2., two loaves of fine flour were to be baked with leaven. Those loaves, however, do not typify Christ, but present the Church in her actual state—sin in her. In Christ, we are unleavened, but as to our present and actual condition there is leaven (evil) in us.
5. About 10lbs. weight